Kraft defends Pats' system

On Tuesday, prior to the team’s charitable foundation Patriots Premiere dinner on the field at Gillette Stadium, Robert Kraft met the media and talked about the state of his franchise.

By Jim Fenton/GateHouse News Service

Milford Daily News

By Jim Fenton/GateHouse News Service

Posted Aug. 28, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 28, 2013 at 7:52 PM

By Jim Fenton/GateHouse News Service

Posted Aug. 28, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 28, 2013 at 7:52 PM

FOXBORO

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His 20th season as owner of the Patriots begins a week from Sunday, making this a special year for Robert Kraft.

It was February 1994 when Kraft’s purchase of the team from James Orthwein became official, and there have been plenty of highlights — including three Super Bowl victories — along the way.

Two months ago, Kraft’s team hit a low point when tight end Aaron Hernandez was charged with murdering Odin Lloyd in North Attleborough.

The Patriots released Hernandez not long after his arrest June 26, and the team had to deal with the fallout in the aftermath.

On Tuesday, prior to the team’s charitable foundation Patriots Premiere dinner on the field at Gillette Stadium, Kraft met the media and talked about the state of his franchise.

"In the end," said Kraft, "we have a business and a company we’re running here where we have 61 young men, most of whom are in their early 20s, and it’s a microcosm of the world.

"So there’s all kinds of things that are going to happen. We do our best to hope they understand they’re in a unique place. Playing in the NFL is a privilege, and we hope they’re wise and mature enough to make sure they know how to take advantage of it.

"Every year in all of our businesses, we re-calibrate what we’re doing to make sure we’re staying fresh and on top of things. Once you stop doing that, you’ll perish. We have reviewed everything. We’ve been very diligent in looking at things and we’ll try to do as best as we can to achieve the results we want."

Hernandez, who signed a $40 million contract last year, sits in a jail in North Dartmouth as the Patriots edge closer to the start of their season.

The NFL Players Association this week filed a grievance to recover $82,000 in workout bonuses that Hernandez earned from April until June.

Asked about the move by the NFLPA, Kraft said: "Well, it’s simple. You can look at our history. We honor all our contracts and we expect the people that sign them to honor their part of the contract."

The Patriots addressed the Hernandez situation in July with Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick separately discussing the matter with the media.

Kraft said Tuesday that the Patriots have been "as diligent as we can be" in finding players with the right character.

"In 20 years, we’ve probably had over 2,000 people playing here," he said. "I think, by and large, we’ve done a pretty good job. If you look at the last four years, I don’t think we had any off-field incidents.

"We know what we want to achieve, yet when people go outside this building, it’s like those of you who have children. Once they get to a certain age, you can’t control all their activities."

Page 2 of 2 - It was a difficult summer for the Patriots as news about Hernandez kept piling up.

The season begins Sept. 8 in Buffalo against the Bills, and Kraft has a good feeling about what might be in store.

"One thing I’ve learned is it’s a privilege to own an NFL team, but every year there’s some kind of surprise that you can’t anticipate,’’ he said. "Sometimes the difficult things help to bring a team together.

"I know people know what our intent is and what we’re trying to do. I’m actually pretty excited about this team. It’s a very young team, one of the younger teams in the league. They seem to be coming together pretty well. I’m excited about this season and the next few seasons."

Kraft said he is a fan of third-string quarterback Tim Tebow, who learns this weekend whether he has made the team.

"I’m rooting for him big time," said Kraft. "He’s been a real joy to have around here. I see why he has such a strong national following. He’s just a great, great young man."

Jim Fenton writes for the Brockton Enterprise of GateHouse News Service. He can be reached at jfenton@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFenton_ent.